No-cap detector for bottles on conveyors lines

ABSTRACT

A NO-CAP DETECTING DEVICE FOR INDICATING WHEN ANY BOTTLE IN A SERIES MOVING ALONG A CONVEYOR HAS NOT HAD A CAP APPLIED THERETO, SAID DEVICE COMPRISING A PAIR OF DISCS CARRIED ROTATABLY ON A VERTICAL AXIS AND EACH HAVING RADIATING SPOKES PROJECTING INTO THE BOTTLE PATH SO THAT SAID DISCS ARE ROTATED BY THE MOVEMENT OF SAID BOTTLES, THE SPOKES OF THE LOWER DISC BEING DISPOSED AT AN ELEVATION TO BE ENGAGED BY THE BOTTLES EVEN IF THE BOTTLES HAVE NO CAPS, AND THE SPOKES OF THE UPPER DISC BEING DISPOSED AT AN ELEVATION TO BE ENGAGED ONLY BY PORTIONS OF THE CAPS EXTENDING ABOVE THE BOTTLES THEMSELVES, A SWITCH CARRIED BY SAID DISCS AND OPERABLE TO REMAIN OPEN SO LONG AS THE DISCS TURN CONCURRENTLY, BUT TO BE CLOSED BY RELATIVE ROTATION OF SAID DISCS, AND A SIGNALLING DEVICE HAVING AN OPERATIVE ELECTRIC CIRCUIT INCLUDING SAID SWITCH.

United States Patent [72] Inventor Manfred l-l. Guentlier 6103 E. 151 Terrace, Grandview, Mo. 64030 [2|] Appl. No. 825,611 [22] Filed May 19, 1969 [451 Patented June 28, 1971 [54] NO-CAP DETECTOR FOR BOTTLES 0N CONVEYORS LINES 8 Claims, 5 Drawing Figs. [52] 0.8. CI 340/259, 340/267, 53/78, ZOO/61.41 [5 l] Int. Cl. G08b 21/00 [50] Field of Search 340/259. 267; 53/78; ZOO/61.41, 6!.46 [56] References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 2,6l5,08l 10/1952 Hoff 340/259 2,883,810 4/1959 Giesk ieng 2,913,547 ll/l959 Zazzara ABSTRACT: A no-cap detecting device for indicating when any bottle in a series moving along a conveyor has not had a cap applied thereto, said device comprising a pair of discs carried rotatably on a vertical axis and each having radiating spokes projecting into the bottle path so that said discs are rotated by the movement of said bottles, the spokes of the lower disc being disposed at an elevation to be engaged by the bottles even if the bottles have no caps, and the spokes of the upper disc being disposed at an elevation to be engaged only by portions of the caps extending above the bottles themselves, a switch carried by said discs and operable to remain open so long as the discs turn concurrently, but to be closed by relative rotation of said discs, and a signalling device having an operative electric circuit including said switch.

I j I u m /o 1 Z NO-CAP DETECTOR FOR BOTTLES N CONVEYORS LINES This invention relates to new and useful improvements in bottling apparatus, and has particular reference to apparatus wherein bottle caps are applied to bottles by automatic machinery as said bottles move along conveyors lines, after said bottles have been previously filled by other automatic equipment. These operations are often performed at a rather high speed, with little or no human supervision, and if the capping machine should for any reason fail to apply a cap to any given bottle, this fact may go undetected, with the result that its contents are spilled during subsequent handling of the bottles, as for example when the bottles are later being placed in boxes or cartons for shipment, an operation which may also be performed by other automatic equipment.

Accordingly, the principal object of the present invention is the provision of means for immediately detecting and signalling to a human operator the presence on the conveyor of any bottle to which a cap has not been applied. Generally, this is accomplished by interposing in the path of each bottle a pair of relatively movable members, one positioned to be engaged and moved by the cap or by the bottle itself if there is no cap, and the other positioned to be engaged and moved only by a portion of the cap projecting above the bottle. There is also provided a switch-controlled electric signal, such as an electric bell, the switch being controlled by said members so as to remain open when said members move concurrently, as when a properly capped bottle engages them, but to be closed to actuate the signal whenever one member moves but the other does not, as when an uncapped bottle moves along the conveyor.

Another object is the provision of a no-cap detector of the character described which compensates for the fact that the caps of many modern bottled products are often quite irregular in shape, as when they include dispensing valves, spray heads and the like, and hence will engage and move the detecting members unequally even when properly applied to the bottles. The present device will be activated only when a cap is completely absent.

Further objects are the provision of a no-cap detector of the character described which automatically resets itself after each time it signals the absence of a cap, requiring no attention of a human operator for this purpose, and which will operate at an extremely high speed or in connection with bottles carried on a high-speed conveyor.

Other objects are simplicity and economy of construction, and efficiency and dependability of operation.

With these objects in view, as well as other objects which will appear in the course of the specification, reference will be had to the accompanying drawing wherein:

FIG. 1 is a side elevational view of a series of bottles disposed on a traveling conveyor, with a no-cap detector embodying the present invention mounted in operative relationship hereto,

FIG. 2 is a fragmentary sectional view taken on line II-Il of FIG. 1,

FIG. 3 is a slightly irregular, enlarged, fragmentary sectional view of the detector taken on line III-Ill of FIG. 2, including a schematic wiring diagram,

FIG. 4 is a fragmentary sectional view taken on line IV-IV of FIG. 3, and

FIG. 5 is a fragmentary sectional view taken on line V-V of FIG. 4.

Like reference numerals apply to similar parts throughout the several views, and the numeral 2 applies to each of a series of bottles disposed in spaced relation on a travelling conveyor belt 4 moving in the direction of arrow 6. Spacers 8 may be provided on the belt, to preserve a regular spacing of the bottles, and to prevent said bottles from tipping over. It will be understood that the bottles have passed previous stations at which they were first filled with the desired contents, and a cap 10 then supposedly applied thereto. As shown, the caps are threaded for connection to the threaded neck 12 of each bottle, though they of course may be applied with a push-fit or snap-fit. Also as shown, each cap is provided with a hollow extension 14 of reduced diameter, which extension may be broken or cut off by the eventual consumer to provide easy dispensing of the contents. Other types of caps may include valves, spray heads or the like with the result that their shapes may be quite irregular, or may be perfectly plain. As is well known, however, the capping apparatus may for various reasons occasionally fail to apply a cap to a bottle, resulting in the presence on conveyor 4 of an uncapped bottle, such a bottle being further indicated at 2A, and since in many cases, the filling, capping, and boxing or other subsequent handling of the bottles is performed by automatic machinery with at best only nominal human supervision, such an uncapped bottle may pass unnoticed, with resultant spillage of bottle contents and damage to equipment and containers during subsequent handling. The present no-cap detector is designed to detect and signal the presence of any uncapped bottle on the line and call it to the attention of a human operator with a suitable signal so that the uncapped bottle can be removed, or a cap applied thereto, before damage can occur. The detector could also, if desired, actuate a further mechanism for automatically ejecting any uncapped bottle from the line by mechanical means.

As shown, the detecting device is indicated generally by the numeral 16, and is carried by a horizontal bar 18 disposed above and adjacent the line of bottles on conveyor 4. Said bar is rigid and fixed, being attached to any suitable support, not shown. Mounted slidably on said bar, and adjustably fixed thereon by a setscrew 20, is a bracket 22. The upper end portion of a vertical spindle 24 is vertically slidable in bracket 22, and adjustably fixed therein by setscrew 26. The lower end of said spindle is axially threaded, and an insulating member 28 is threaded therein, said insulating member having at its lower end a flange 30 of larger diameter than the spindle. Below flange 30, there is provided a tubular spindle extension 32, coaxial with and of the same diameter as spindle 24, secured by a screw 34 extending upwardly through the extension and threaded into insulating member 28, whereby the spindle and spindle extension are insulated from each other. The spindle, spindle extension and screw are all of an electrical conducting material.

Mounted rotatably on spindle 24 so as to bear against the upper surface of flange 30 is a disc 36 formed of insulating material. It is provided with a conductive core 38 rotatably engaging the spindle, and has a series of spokes 40 embedded in the lower surface thereof. Said spokes (5 shown) are formed of conducting material, are spaced at uniform angular intervals, are each secured in the disc by a screw 42, and extend radially outwardly beyond the peripheral edge of the disc. At its inner end, each spoke makes electrical contact with core 38. Similarly, another disc 44 having a conductive core 46 is mounted rotatably on spindle extension 32 below flange 30, and is provided with spokes 48 embedded flush in the upper surface thereof and secured by screws 50, and extending radially outwardly therefrom. Spokes 48 are the same length and arranged at the same angular intervals as spokes 40, and each makes electrical contact with core 46. A washer 52 is disposed on spindle 24 above disc 36, and urged thereagainst by a spring 54 compressed between said washer and a collar 56 secured on the spindle by setscrew 58, and a washer 60 is disposed on spindle extension 32 below disc 44, and urged thereagainst by a spring 62 compressed between said washer and a steel washer 64 carried on screw 34. Thus each disc 36 and 44, by its loading between flange 30 and its washer 52 or 60, is frictionally braked against free or unrestrained rotation.

A leaf spring electric contact 66 has one end thereof secured to one of spokes 40 of upper disc 36, as by means of a screw 42, and is biased so that its opposite end rides slidably on the upper surface of lower disc 44, as best shown in FIG. 5. As best shown in FIG. 3, there is provided an electrical circuit, shown diagrammatically, including in series a wire 68 connected to spindle 24, a source of electric power represented by a battery 70, a wire 72, an electric bell 74 or other electrically operated signal device, and a wire 76 connected to screw 34 and hence to spindle extension 32. Thus whenever spring contact 66 engages any of the spokes 48 of lower disc 44, the circuit is completed and bell 74 rings. For reasons to be described below, there is interposed in wire 76 a time delay switch 78 operable whenever the circuit is completed as just described, to complete an auxiliary circuit to the bell through wire 80, and to maintain said auxiliary circuit for a predetermined length of time, regardless of whether contact 66 still engages a spoke 48 or not.

In usage, setscrew 20 is loosened and bracket 22 adjusted along bar 18 until the vertical axes of the bottles 2 on conveyor 4 intersects the path of spokes 40 and 48, preferably about midway in the extended length of said spokes, as shown in FIG. 2. Then setscrew 22 is loosened, and spindle 24 adjusted vertically in bracket 22 to such an elevation that lower spokes 48 areengaged either by the bottle caps 10, or by the bottle neck 12 of any bottle, such as bottle 2A, to which a cap has not been applied, while upper spokes 40 are engaged only by a portion of each bottle cap extending above the bottle itself. As shown, spokes 40 are engaged by the upwardly extending hollow extensions 14 of the caps, but the adjustment may easily be made with sufficient accuracy that spokes 40 will be engaged only by plain caps without upward extensions, where the projection of the cap above the bottle is equal only to the thickness of the top end wall of the cap.

it will thus be seen that if a cap has been applied to any given bottle moving along the conveyor, said cap will engage one of spokes 48 of disc 44, and one of spokes 40 of disc 36, and rotate both of said discs concurrently on the spindle. So long as the discs turn concurrently, and so long as the spokes of one disc are generally registered with the spokes of the other disc, switch contact 66 rides on an insulating portion of disc 44, as shown in FIG. 5, so that the previously described bell circuit is not completed and the bell does not sound. As shown in FIGS. 1 and 2, the spokes of the two discs are not held in precise registry by a bottle cap, due to the irregularity of the shape of the cap, but the bell circuit is still not completed since spokes 48 of the lower disc 44, which must be engaged by contact 66 to complete the circuit are spaced widely apart, and since said contact engages disc 44 midway between successive spokes 48 when the spokes of the two discs are registered. Thus the discs must be turned relatively about half of the angular spacing between successive spokes before the circuit is completed. This permits proper operation with caps having a much greater irregularity of shape than that actually shown.

When a bottle, such as bottle 2A, has not had a cap applied thereto, its neck 12 engages a spoke 48 and turns disc 44 as before, but does not engage a spoke 40 so that disc 36 remains stationary. The resultant relative rotation of the discs brings one of spokes 48 into engagement with contact 66, completing the bell circuit to sound bell '74. A human operator, thus warned, may remove the uncapped bottle from the line, or apply a cap thereto manually. The frictional braking applied to discs 36 and 44 by springs 54 and 62 and washers 52 and 60 is important in that it prevents unrestrained spinning of the discs. Such spinning could result from the impetus imparted to the discs by the bottles, particularly on a high speed conveyor, and would cause false signals. The time delay 78 keeps bell 74 ringing for an ample time to insure that an operator will notice and act on it, even though contact 66 may traverse a spoke 48 very rapidly so that the primary bell circuit is completed only for a much shorter period, and is also therefore important in connection with high speed conveyors. It would of course be possible to increase the signal duration by increasing the angular extent of spokes 48 within disc 44, these representing the fixed contacts of the switch, but to do so would increase the chances that irregularities of shape of the bottle caps would cause a bottle to actuate the signal when it actually had a cap thereon. When a "no-cap" signal has been given, the next following bottle on the line, if it has a cap, will immediately move a pair of spokes 40-48 into approximate registry to ready the detector bar further use. No resettin is required.

While I have shown and describe a specific embodiment of my invention, it will be readily apparent that many minor changes of structure and operation could be made without departing from the spirit of the invention.

What I claim as new and desire to protect by Letters Patent is:

lclaim:

1. A device for detecting and indicating the absence of caps from any of a series of bottles on a moving conveyor, said device comprising:

a. a vertical spindle,

b. means for mounting said spindle fixedly adjacent said conveyor,

c. a pair of discs mounted for independent rotation on said spindle and each including a series of spokes extending radially and horizontally therefrom, said spokes intersecting the vertical plane of the path of travel of said bottles, the spokes of the lower of said discs being disposed at an elevation to be engaged and turned by said bottle regardless of whether a cap has been applied thereto, and the spokes of the upper of said discs being disposed at an elevation to be engaged and turned only by a portion of a bottle cap projecting above the bottle, and

d. operating means responsive to relative rotation of said discs to generate a signal.

2. The structure as recited in claim 1 wherein said operating means comprises:

a. cooperating members carried respectively by said discs and constituting an electric switch operable by rotation of said discs, whereby said switch remains open so long as said discs turn concurrently but closes when the lower disc turns independently of the upper disc, and

b. a primary operative electric circuit including a source of electric power, said switch, and an electrically operable signalling device.

3. The structure as recited in claim 1 wherein said mounting means for said spindle includes means whereby said spindle may be adjusted vertically and transversely with respect to the line of travel of said bottles on said conveyor.

4. The structure as recited in claim 1 with the addition of frictional braking means applying yieldable resistance to rotation of said discs on said spindle.

5. The structure as recited in claim 2 with the addition of an auxiliary electric circuit including a source of electric power, said signalling device, and a time delay switch operable to remain closed for a predetermined time each time it is actuated, saidprimary electric circuit being operable to actuate said time delay switch.

6. The structure as recited in claim 2 wherein said switch comprises a series of angularly spaced apart fixed contacts carried at the face of one of said discs confronting the other of said discs, all of said fixed contacts being electrically interconnected and the angular spacing therebetween being equal to the angular spacing of the spokes of said disc, and a moving contact carried by the other of said discs and operable to engage said fixed contacts successively as said discs rotate relatively, the angular spacing of the spokes of both discs being equal.

7. The structure as recited in claim 6 wherein said moving contact does not engage any of the fixed contacts when the spokes of both discs are in registry, or during substantial degrees of relative angular movement of the discsv in either direction from this position of spoke registry, contact occurring only when the spokes of the two discs are out of registry by about half the angular spacing between successive spokes.

8. The structure as recited in claim 7 with the addition of an auxiliary electric circuit including a source of electric power, said signalling device, and a time delay switch operable to remain closed for a predetermined time each time it is actuated, said primary electric circuit being operable to actuate said time delay switch. 

